The head of Burkina Faso's military government, Ibrahim Traore, has sought to stamp out speculation of a power struggle within its ranks, warning he intends remaining the country's only leader.
"There can't be two captains on one ship," the authoritarian Traore told community leaders in Ouahigouya in the north of the country on Thursday.
The prolonged absence of two leading figures has fuelled rumours of a tussle within the military government, which came to power in a coup in September 2022.
His second-in-command Oumarou Yabre is one of the most influential figures in Burkina's security apparatus.
A security official said Yabre stopped going to his office at the National Intelligence Agency and the security detail assigned to his home has been cut substantially.
